2 TDs For UConn-Bound Boyle In High School All-Star Game

EAST HARTFORD — Quarterback Tim Boyle totaled two touchdowns to help the National Guard escape the first Hall of Fame Classic Military Bowl with a 15-14 victory over the Marines at Rentschler Field.

"There's no question our emphasis was to come here and win," said National Guard and Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore. "Let the kids enjoy the experience and be part of something very special for high school football in our state, but at the end of the day you want to win the game."

Boyle, of Xavier-Middletown, will play at UConn this fall, completed 12-of-24 passes for 134 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He ran for 16 yards and a score on three attempts.

Boyle earned Offensive Player of the Game honors for the National Guard. His Xavier teammates, Max Tylki and Kevin Dean, earned National Guard Defensive Player of the Game and Marines Offensive Player of the Game honors, respectively.

"That was ridiculous," Boyle said. "I was looking at my parents after I got my Offensive MVP award and my mom's balling her eyes out. I look over and Max gets it and that just hit home."

Hartford Public's Abdulahi Dukalay earned the Coaches' Award for best camp performance for the National Guard. Windsor's Devonte Dillon earned the same honor for the Marines. Middletown's Isiah Swain, who was named the Marines Defensive Player of the Game, intercepted Boyle twice. Swain dove and caught a tipped pass for his first pick and was there waiting for an overthrown pass in the third quarter.

"I was dropping back and I guess I got lucky," Swain said. "One was a tip. The second one, that's Boyle, he made a mistake and I made him pay for it. He threw it over the receiver and I was there in the right spot."

Both offenses were anemic in the first quarter. The only scoring came on a safety with 13 seconds left, when Marines quarterback Quinn Fleeting was flagged for an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone. Fleeting, of Windsor, will play at Central.

Oxford quarterback Brennan Ortiz got the Marines on the board with 3:03 left in the half with a 2-yard touchdown run. Boyle found Sam Miranda for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 1:21 remaining to give the National Guard an 8-7 halftime lead. Ortiz, who will play at Western, scored on a 1-yard sneak 6:43 into the third to put the Marines back on top.

"It was good, but in the end you still want that W," Diaz said. "That's why we worked hard those eight days in practice. It's a little bittersweet."

The National Guard answered with a methodical 17-play drive, highlighted by a Boyle 2-yard dive on fourth down to keep the chains moving. Five plays later, at the 3:36 mark, Boyle scored on a 14-yard bootleg run down the right sideline to cap the 74-yard drive.

"We struggled a little bit early offensively so we stayed with Tim a little bit longer than we had anticipated, trying to get him into a rhythm," Buonocore said. "I think in the second half, the way we came out on that drive, we established ourselves."

Three plays later it seemed as though the National Guard sealed the game with a 32-yard interception return by Je'vaughn Moore, but an illegal defense penalty negated the score. With 7:25 left in the game, the Marines had a chance to take the lead, but a 31-yard field goal by Greenwich's Jesse Adelberg went wide left. Fleeting was sacked twice in a last-minute desperation drive, sealing the win for the National Guard.

"I think we both did a good job defensively," said Marines and Windsor coach Robert Fleeting. "I think both defenses played well. I think the kids played well."

The National Guard used option quarterback Mike Nicol, of Wolcott, in the fourth quarter. Nicol broke a 45-yard run on the National Guard's final series.

"Mike gave us an alternative with what he's able to do with his legs," Buonocore said. "He did a good job for us."